CHAPTER ONE

::Jake::

My name is Jake Berenson. I'm a sixteen-year-old kid at junior high school, and – pretty much a regular kid I suppose.

More about me? Well... I'm into basketball. I didn't make the cut a few years ago, but I tried out again start of the semester, and I got in. Many people said I should have gotten in a long time ago because Tom, my big bro, was a star player. But he quit throwing hoops after some time, because he was totally into this thing called The Sharing. I've gone to a few dinners where they invite the whole family, and a social gathering for the kids at my school who joined it, but I didn't like being so sociable with all those happy souls there. So I just concentrated on my studies and training up for the team again.

Guess what? It paid off.

People say teenagers get into this angsty phase of life. Well, I didn't. I'm not in it now either. I'm pretty much happy, contented, satisfied. I don't need anything more. My family's great. Tom was a bit touchy a couple of years ago because I didn't tag along to The Sharing, but he's gotten used to my "idiosyncratic way of living my life", according to him. He did say they're starting up a basketball team at The Sharing though, like for a county match kinda thing. Maybe that doesn't sound so bad... if they do start it up, I might give it a shot. Hanging out with a bunch of basketball dudes won't demand too much sociability out of me compared to a barbecue. Tom would be pleased. We haven't been hanging out that much, but it's okay, we're cool. We still have a bunch of fun talking nonsense over the dinner table and he still calls me a midget even though I've grown fairly tall, almost reaching his height.

Social life? Well Marco's my best bud since we've been playing in sandpits, 'cos we lived near each other. But gradually, he became a lot more than a playmate – he always listens to what I have to say, and gives pretty good advice. He tends to get a bit serious sometimes, but he does know how to get a bit of fun, like playing arcade with me. Now that we're sixteen, we've moved onto more sophisticated computer games that he's got installed at his place, no thanks to his techy dad.

Then there's Cassie. She's... well you can say she's my girlfriend. We never really sat down to make it official or anything, it's just a feeling. I know we like each other. We'd be there for each other. She's a rather tough cookie, and nobody messes with her or calls her names, but I know that she's pretty sentimental inside. She tends to not care about a lot of details, but when it comes to people she cares about, she does show it. I don't know how to explain, maybe some examples in the future might make you see.

I got to know Cassie through her best friend, my cousin Rachel. Rachel's like a supermodel, tall, pretty, and blonde. You'd expect her to be some stuck-up airhead, but she's actually really intelligent. She's also pretty much the teacher's pet in every class, sometimes she's so goody-goody it's a little bit sickening. But at the same time she's so good-natured that you can't help but like her anyway.

Anyway, Marco, Cassie and I have lessons together most of the time. Right now, I was moving from history to math class. Marco was looking a bit dazed at the end of history when I wanted to ask him something, so I left him alone. He tends to get a bit zoned out at times, and the teacher would accuse him of not paying attention. But it was partly because his family situation is a little screwed up. His mum passed away when he was a little kid, and his dad turned to alcohol to solve a lot of problems, when he wasn't dealing with his computers. There wasn't much time he gave to Marco. Coupled with Marco's slightly pessimistic nature, all in all, it's a pretty gloomy atmosphere at his place.

Maybe he might cheer up with all those hyper enthusiastic people at The Sharing, who knows?

But Marco wasn't in math class with me; it was Cassie. That cheered me up tremendously. Sometimes when the teacher's back was turned, our hands would surreptitiously snake across our laps and our fingers would intertwine for a brief moment, just before the teacher snapped back again, and we'd pull back swiftly, with our eyes still dancing. Those were little moments that made me enjoy being young and sheltered, with only schoolwork and friends to handle.

There were sometimes though, that I wish I could have a chance to just venture out on my own into the wild, just do something crazy perhaps. Something extraordinary. Witness something out of this world, attempt something beyond my limits – just something totally off the record. Cassie would approve. Marco might be slightly skeptical, but he'd encourage me to do what I wanted to. Rachel? Rachel would think that would be a bad idea.

But who cares? A boy can dream, can't he?

I guess sometimes I can't wait to grow older and be able to do anything I like.

It was when I was indulging in this little thought of mine, and starting to move a little quicker, that I ran headlong into someone. I groaned, and the other person muttered a hasty apology. I stumbled back, and saw a boy with tousled dirty-blond hair stumble backwards too.

"Hey," I said. "I should be the one to say sorry. I bumped into you."

He stared at me intensely. "Jake?"

I stared back at him. "Do – do I know you?"

I didn't know this boy at all. Was he from The Sharing? Was he one of those kids in my class?

"Jake, are you okay? It's me, it's..."

Just then, a female voice called out.

"Tobias!"

The boy instinctively jerked his head to the side, though rather unnaturally. It gave me the impression of a very birdlike instinct. There was a woman walking quickly towards him, and she had a mass of shining blonde hair framing her small face. "Tobias, where have you been? We'd do the school tour after you're done with the principal!"

The boy just stared at her with a complete look of confusion and amazement melded into one. "Loren?"

"Tobias!" The woman suddenly hissed, not looking worried anymore. "That's uncalled for! Even if you're angry with me!"

Now Tobias was looking extremely perplexed. Then his gaze snapped back to me. It was uncomfortable, the way he stared without blinking. "Jake, what's going on?" He looked down at himself. "I'm human... and..." He looked around, before suddenly getting quite panicked. He reached out to grab my arm, startling me. "What are we doing here? We need to get back to the valley! Now!"

"Hey hang on a sec!" I wrenched his hand from mine. "What do you think you're doing? I don't even know you!"

"Jake, this is crazy! It's the Ellimist! Crayak! Another of their games!"

By this time, there was a crowd of students who had stopped by to watch the show.

"I'm sorry!" The woman tried to pull Tobias away from me hastily. "He's been a bit weird lately. I tried to send him to school a couple of years ago but it ended very badly. The principal just told me recently that there was a vacancy, so I tried again... it looks like he's taking to the idea very terribly again!"

"It's okay..." I began, but Tobias suddenly went wild. "This is insane! I'm not going to school! Loren, what are you doing?"

"Stop pretending, Tobias! It's for your own good! I've had enough of your little make-believe games, you're sixteen, and you ought to be growing up!"

"Let go of me! Jake, listen to me... stop it, Loren!" He struggled with her. "STOP!"

There was a sudden loud slap that reverberated along the corridor. I gaped, and the students who had been staring let out a gasp. Loren was staring hard at Tobias, then at her red palm, while Tobias was gaping just like me, his hand to his cheek.

"Tobias..." began Loren. "I didn't mean to..."

With a blank expression on his face, Tobias turned and ran off. Loren yelled after him, but he did not turn back, bursting down the hallway and through the main entrance. With an exasperated grunt, Loren took off as well. I stared after both of them, completely thrown off balance by the boy's behaviour. And how did he know me? What was he trying to tell me? Go back to the valley? The Ellimist? Crayak? What was he talking about?

"Yo, Jake," called out a boy who was in my English class. Nicholas. "You okay?"

I nodded, and slowly, the crowd of students began to disperse.

"He's insane," I whispered, shaking my head. "Utterly insane. He should be sent to a mental institution, not high school."

I proceeded to math class, where class had already begun. Muttering an apology, I took my place, only to discover that Cassie was not in her usual place beside me.

Strange. Cassie is never late for class. She's always early, in fact.

I shook my head slightly again. This was going to be a really strange day.